Derailed

Five Lessons Learned From Catastrophic Failures of Leadership

What causes a leader to fail? What can we learn from those who have fallen? How do we avoid failure of our own? These are just a few of the questions answered in Derailed: 5 Lessons Learned from Catastrophic Failures of Leadership, a book for leaders and aspiring leaders of all levels by Tim Irwin, Ph.D. Derailed chronicles the collapse of six high-profile CEOs, the factors that drove their downfalls, and the lessons that we can learn to stay on track and avoid derailing our own lives and careers. The story of the fallen CEO has become a cultural fixture: veering off course with the force of a train careening off its tracks, leaving fiery wreckage and devastating injury throughout the organization. These executives are often the smartest and most respected individuals in their industries, with glittering resumes and histories of successful leadership. Yet they astonish us by driving the train dramatically off course, blinded by unchecked power and arrogance. Dr. Tim Irwin believes that these leaders suffer from failures of character that are common to each of us--even the most capable individuals. Deficits in authenticity, humility, self-management, and courage become more dangerous as we take on more leadership, and can cause us to ignore glaring signals that might otherwise save us from catastrophic demise. Derailed profiles the collapse of six high-profile CEOs (Robert Nardelli - Home Depot, Carly Fiorina - HP, Durk Jager - Proctor and Gamble, Steven Heyer - Starwood Hotels, Frank Raines - Fannie Mae, Dick Fuld - Lehman Brothers) and the factors that drove their downfalls, finding that derailment actually happens long before the crash and can be avoided. Derailed explains the character qualities that are essential for successful leadership and how to cultivate them so that we can avoid being derailed.